Balakliia

The land that is now Balakliia has been inhabited since ancient times. Settlements from the Neolithic Age and Bronze Age have been preserved.[7]

The Balakliika River is the basis for the town's name.

The name is derived from the Balakliia River, a tributary of the Donets. The river's name in turn comes from a Turkic word meaning 'fish river'.[8] The Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary judges from the name of the settlement that the town was originally a Tatar settlement.[9]

The modern history of the settlement as part of Russia and later Ukraine began in 1663,[10][1] when it became populated by Russians and served as a guard post against raids from Crimean Tatars.[9][10] Starting in 1669 or 1670, the settlement served as the center of the Balakliia Regiment, which existed until 1677.[7] Residents of Balakliia took an active part in the Stenka Razin Rebellion (1676—1681), the Bulavin Rebellion (1707–1708), and Pugachev's Rebellion (1773–1775).[7]

From 1817 to 1891, the settlement was known as Novo-Serpukhiv.[lower-alpha 1][7]

By the early 20th century, Balakliia had a population of 5,197.[9] Soviet control was established over Balakliia in December 1917, and it received urban status in 1938.[1] During World War II, the town was occupied by the Wehrmacht between 9 December 1941, and 5 February 1943.[7][11][12]

March 2017 explosions in the city

On 23 March 2017, 20,000 inhabitants of Balakliia were evacuated after a series of massive explosions erupted at a nearby arms depot of the Balakliia military installation, which stockpiles missile and artillery ammunition.[13] The disaster led to the death of one woman civilian; five other civilians were injured. There were no casualties among the military.[14][15] Thousands of residents within a 10 km radius around the complex were evacuated in the aftermath. By the end of March, the fires and resulting arms explosions at the ammunition depot in Balakliia had damaged almost 250 buildings. On 18 April, Balakliya and nearby villages were cleared of unexploded ordnance.[16]

On 3 May 2018, there was a new series of explosions at the depot after dry grass caught fire.[17] 1,500 locals were evacuated, and no casualties were reported.[17] On 15 November 2019, another series of explosions killed two Ukrainian soldiers.[18]

On 3 March 2022, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian forces captured the town.[19] The then-Mayor Ivan Stolbovyy initially stayed in the occupied town and collaborated with the Russian occupation forces. "[I]t’s complicated," he told Balakliya residents, "It’s war." He urged the town's inhabitants not to engage in looting or "terrorist acts".[20] On 28 March, the government of Ukraine began criminal proceedings against Stolbovyy on charges of treason and collaboration with Russia. In early April 2022,[21] Stolbovyy fled with his family to Russia.[22]

The senior military occupation officer in Balakliya was Colonel Ivan Popov,[23]; the commandant charged with "keeping the local civilian population in check" went under the pseudonym "V. Granit" (Granite), and oversaw at least one interrogation center where Ukrainian civilians were "beaten and questioned using electric shocks", according to Balakliya residents and Ukrainian government officials.[23] According to a Reuters investigation published in April 2023, "Granit" was the pseudonym of Valery Sergeyevich Buslov, a lieutenant colonel in the military police.[24]

The occupation force occupied a "run-down vehicle repair complex" on the town's outskirts and used it as their command center for the occupation. Russian soldiers distributed flyers "warning of Ukraine’s descent into Nazi rule" if the Ukrainian government regained control of the town, and "scribbled" on the walls of the military base.[23]

Ukrainian flag flying in liberated Balakliia on September 8, 2022

On 6 September 2022, Ukrainian forces launched a counteroffensive towards Balakliia, reportedly retaking adjacent Verbivka and besieging the town.[25] After crossing the Donets River, men of the 71st Jaeger Brigade led an offensive on Balakliia, coming from the direction of Husarivka.[26] On 8 September, the Ukrainian flag was raised over the town after a brief battle,[27] and on 10 September, Ukraine announced it had established control.[28][29]

After recapturing the town, Ukrainian officials said they had discovered torture chambers where Ukrainian prisoners were held. Serhiy Bolvinov, head of the Kharkiv Region National Police Investigation Department, stated that 40 people had been detained there.[30] Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that more than ten similar torture chambers had been discovered in the Kharkiv Region.[31] Investigations also began against more alleged collaborators.[32]

Balakliya train station under repair in November after the city's liberation

Electric power was restored to the town on 26 September 2022.[33] On 25 November 2022, the Vinnytsia city council allocated 10 million hryvnias in funds to help rebuild liberated Balaklia. The funds were to be used, specifically, to restore housing and improve heating services ahead of the winter.[34]